Check out Jenni's Guts

*Again, I am in no way, shape or form getting paid for or any kind of merch for promoting this blog. This is my cousin Jenni's blog. I just thought the more information I share with you, the better we all will be. Even though you may not have Crohn's, her life is just like ours, neverending crap (no pun intended) that makes you feel miserable and think you are crazy.

If you or someone you know has Crohn's Disease along with Fibro, check out this terrific blog, Jenni's Guts. Like I said above, you may not have Crohn's Disease but you can totally relate to her struggles. Her posts are down to earth and to the point. She, like me, does not sugar coat when she writes. Check her out! Oh yeah, she was also nominated for...

Click the links highlighted to check it out!

Hugs!!

Jenn

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My trip to the medical marijuana recommendation physician...

First of all...

*I am in no way, shape or form being paid for, benefiting from or getting anything out of this post by Ohio Marijuana Card . I am writing this to share my experience with you. They will probably not even be aware that I am writing this.

This pic is from Ohio Marijuana Card website. Click here to visit site.

Quick background, in 2016 Ohio House Bill 523 was signed into law pertaining to the legalization of medical marijuana. And, us Ohioians, have painstakingly been waiting ever since. Ohio has been very slow implementing the program and even though HB523 timeline indicated that medical marijuana will be available September 2018, that did not happen. Go figure!

Here it is November 2018 and there is finally, light at the end of the tunnel. We should be able to purchase products by mid December or early January. Even though, Ohio Board of Pharmacy Portal for the card is not up yet, certified providers can now start to evaluate and forward their recommendation to the state. So beginning of this month I went to Ohio Marijuana Card to be evaluated.

I honestly can’t remember how I found Ohio Marijuana Card. More than likely it was a Google search for certified providers. Anywhoo, making an appointment was easy. Just go onto their website, fill out their form and pick the date you want. (I do know at this point they are booking a month out. So be patient. You can't even buy products until end of December 2018 or early January 2019)

Few things you should know:

1. You have to have at least 1 of the 21 Qualifying Conditions (click the link to see what conditions are approved at the time of this post.)
2. Take pertinent medical records with you. I have Fibromyalgia. So, I logged on to an online medical chart my physicians use and printed out visit summaries with the diagnosis listed as present conditions. I went as far back as 2012. I printed out MRI and CT Scans too. They show the problems with my cervical disc that have bone spurs too. That suggests that I have chronic and severe pain. But it was the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia that was really important. I also printed off my ridiculously long medication list. Obviously it shows pain meds, muscle relaxers, antidepression meds ya know all the crap you have to take when you have Fibro. 
3. Take your ID and form of payment is either cash or credit/debit card. No checks or bitcoin.
4. The fee. Their fee is $280. This covers the evaluation, if approved, recommendation to the state, the submittal of paperwork to the state and the 3 follow ups that you have to have for the year in accordance to the law. I believe once the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy Portal opens, Ohio Marijuana Card will take the $50 marijuana card fee for the year and send it to the state (and $25 for you caregiver’s card). So you won’t have to wait like I have to right now because it’s not up yet. The total then would be $330-$355.
5. NO INSURANCE WILL PAY FOR THIS EVALUATION OR FOR MARIJUANA PRODUCTS. This is all out of your pocket. 
6. Paying the above fee to Ohio Marijuana Card does NOT guarantee you will be recommended.

Ok now with all that being said, let me tell you about my visit. My appointment was at the Beavercreek location. Take note that there is NOT a sign posted by the road. However, there is a paper taped to the door. It took us a few minutes to find the office location. I thought about it and came to the conclusion that they might not want a big sign that says Ohio Marijuana Card because the fear would be some moron will think they have buckets of pot just laying around and try to rob the place. So I don’t blame them at all for not posting a “Come rob me sign”. There are 2 entrances. The front one, next to the barber shop. I made the mistake going in this way because there is a flight of stairs you have to walk down and I loathe stairs. My legs loathe stairs. But if you drive around back, you can walk right in, no stairs and there’s even a wheelchair ramp.

I never claimed to be a pro photographer!

The waiting room was very clean and quiet. With the exception of a pod cast playing which didn’t bother me one bit. It was not filled with drug crazed lunatics like some government officials think it would be. Just people like me, in pain and so badly want it to stop.

The gentleman at the front desk was very polite, took my ID, medical records and answered any questions that I had. My appointment was at 11 am and we were seen at 11:30. Again, this was not a big deal considering I’ve waited at my pain clinic for 2, 3 sometimes 4 hours at a time.

This pic is from WHIO News interview. Watch it... here.

The doc called my name so my hubby and I proceeded to the exam room. Exam room was comfortable and clean. Typical looking exam room. I sat on the couch next to the doctor as we began to talk about my health conditions and fibro. He reviewed my records and test results. The doc and I did talk about different forms available and what he thought would be best for my symptoms.

But guys, seriously, I am not going to go into detail about what he specifically asked me and what my answers were. I do NOT want people who fake Fibro just to get weed to learn from my post on what to say and not to say. Sorry posers, not gonna happen! You’ve already made it impossible for people like me, who are actually sick, to get disability because of you faking it and getting busted! But I will say I felt it was a very thorough and extensive evaluation. In the end, I was given the recommendation for medical marijuana. They will submit the paperwork and I will receive an email once the portal is up and running to obtain my card and of course pay the state their money.

Oh, I almost forgot, I asked the doc what made him become certified. He said (I’m paraphrasing mind you.) that he went to a conference and the study regarding other states who have legalized medical marijuana had 25% less opiate use. So he knew there was something to it. And, if opiates do not have to be prescribed, considering the epidemic right now, that would be a plus. (Again I am paraphrasing.)

All in all I did have a very good experience. I do recommend going there to obtain a recommedation for medical marijuana. Honestly, I was afraid that with medical marijuana recommendation places popping up (just like some pain clinics) that it could be real sketchy. But this place wasn’t like that at all. I was impressed of the cleanliness, ease to make an appointment and the thorough exam.

Keep an eye out either here or on my Facebook page for updates on the release of Ohio Board of Pharmacy Portal and my first trip to buy medical marijuana.

Hugs!

Jenn

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